It had been forever since she’d been kissed with that kind of passion, that kind of gentleness. That kind of need.
Dana tangled her arms around his neck and jumped in with two feet. Accepting the worship he gave. Moaning as his tongue dipped between her lips, shivering as he pressed a hand against her lower back, and even through the layers, his arousal was clear. Every bit of him hard, a solid and unyielding man—
Who had taken time out of his day to make her cookies.
A man who even now was pulling back, breathing heavily, with fire in his eyes and yearning on his face as he put space between them.
“I’ll call you,” he promised.
Before she could say anything else, he was gone.
19
By the time Blake got out of bed for the second time, the sun was high in the sky and the house was quiet. He’d missed the entire rush and rumble of the kids headed off to school.
The sound of singing lured him out to the big vegetable garden area beyond the back door on a beautiful spring morning.
Jaxi was planting. Blake had turned over the garden the previous day, and now the fresh scent of sunshine on dirt rose on the air like a promise.
PJ walked beside an open row, a bucket in his hand and sheer delight on his face. Jaxi pointed to the ground, and he dropped to his knees to push in a couple of seeds. Together, they were singing the alphabet song loud enough to echo off the house.
It took another moment to spot Justin. The little dude had both arms wrapped around Jaxi’s leg, clinging like a leech. He laughed every time she moved, his eyes squeezed shut as if he were on the wildest, most exciting ride at the Stampede.
Jaxi’s smile stayed constant, no matter how off the mark PJ’s planting efforts went.
Blake was struck with a memory. One of the garden the summer after he and Jaxi had gotten married. The twins had been born in May, but Jaxi had still planted, the newborns tucked into the double stroller in the shade while they slept. The rows of corn and beets and carrots had been ruler straight and picture perfect. Delicious to boot.
Contrasting that was a memory of last year’s crop. The rows had meandered like a drunk man had planted them—or a mom with a one-, three-, and five-year-old helping, since Lana had only been at kindergarten on alternate days. The garden had been a lush, disorderly jungle, the yellow heads of sunflowers randomly rising skyward like tall, happy-go-lucky sentinels. It had still produced delicious food for their table.
Jaxi knew growing up straight and tall happened inside babies and that sometimes messy gardens made the magic happen.
Blake marched into the dirt and dropped to his knees in front of her. She barely had time to blink before he was attacked by two little boys, but his hands went to Jaxi first, pulling her in for a sweet, tender kiss.
For one moment, quiet surrounded them, or as much quiet as they could get on a ranch in the springtime with two children laughing and the birds turning the air into a symphony of joy.
Blake rose and brushed the dirt off his knees. “I’ll be in the office if you need me.”
“Always need you,” she said with a wink. Which was true, even though Jaxi was the most independent and capable woman, bar none, Blake had ever met.
He walked into the office they’d fixed up in the main barn and stopped in surprise. “Daniel.”
His brother glanced away from the maps pinned to the wall. “Hey, lazybones.”
“Bullshit on that,” Blake said dryly. “Or has it been long enough you forgot what calving season is like?”
“Time and therapy are beginning to knock off the edges,” Daniel said before marching forward and giving him a quick hug. “Got a minute to talk?”
“Always.” Blake headed to the side of the room where they’d put in a new-fangled coffee maker. He’d thought it an extravagant luxury, but moments like this, he was very appreciative of the one-cup wonder. “Can I get you a coffee?”
Five minutes later they sat in the hard-backed chairs, leaning back and relaxed.
“I’ll get straight to the point. Lance graduates in June. Beth gave Jaxi all the details about the ceremony, but I wanted you to know that Lance specifically asked to make sure you and Travis are there. And at the barbecue afterward. Seems you two are his favourites.” Daniel’s grin said so much.
The three boys Daniel had adopted had turned all of their lives upside down at different stages of the game, but Blake’s younger brother being a dad to teenagers well ahead of the rest of them all—
Priceless and educational.
“Of course, we’ll be there. I can’t believe he’s graduating already.”
“Going to be like clockwork the next two years, with Nathan and Rob so evenly spaced in age,” Daniel said proudly. “The other thing is, Beth and I would like to give Lance a horse as a graduation present. I’ve already been in contact with Karen, and she’s got a good possibility lined up, but are you okay if the beast boards here? Lance seems to do most of the work you schedule out of the Six Pack stables.”
“I schedule him here because I like seeing the kid,” Blake admitted. “Plus, it gives Dad a kick to have a grown-up grandson hanging around, worshiping him.”
Daniel laughed. “Yeah, we get a lot of ‘and Grandpa said’ at the dinner table.”
Which made Blake happy and sad at the same time, the thoughts of his father’s confession never too far away. If he could help build a few more good memories for both grandfather and grandson, it was a good thing.
“Of course the horse can stable here.” Blake glanced at his brother. “You okay with me offering Lance full-time work once high school is officially done?”
“You can offer, but he’s headed to university at the end of summer. He’s keen about getting his bachelor’s degree in sustainable agricultural systems.”
Blake blinked. “Right. The conservation stuff he was telling me about.”
Daniel smiled. “Yeah, that’s pretty much what I said too. But once he’s done, I know he wants to come back and rejoin the family.”
“And he’ll be welcome,” Blake assured him, twisting as a knock on the open doorframe echoed off the walls.
“So this is how the other half lives.” Jesse wandered in and eyed their coffee cups. “At least you’re not munching down cake or doughnuts.”
“I can help with that.” Another voice sounded, and Jesse moved aside to allow Uncle Mark to join them. “Good to see you again, boys.”
He placed a full box of doughnuts on the table, popping the lid open and helping himself to one before pointing at Jesse. “You don’t need to make yourself sound so hard done by. I saw the size of that sandwich you were eating in your truck.”
Jesse paused in the middle of reaching for a chocolate Bismarck. “Jeez, you spying on me, Uncle Mark?”
“You were parked at the side of the road,” Mark said dryly.
Blake’s brother grinned then nabbed his target. “Vicki makes Joel’s lunches. The woman must think Joel’s got a tapeworm, because there is always more than enough for both of us to have second breakfasts.”
The room was getting crowded. Blake caught hold of the rolling chair behind the desk and moved it out. “Jesse, grab a chair from the hallway.”